Solid deicers, such as rock salt or solar salt (sodium chloride) and abrasives, such as sand, are commonly applied to roads and other surfaces during winter months. These solid deicers and abrasives are often pre-wetted before being stored or applied. Pre-wetting typically involves addition of a liquid to the solid deicer or abrasive in order to give it increased resistance to freezing, improved storage characteristics, enhanced flowability, corrosion resistance, and better deicing performance. Liquid brines of sodium chloride, calcium chloride, and magnesium chloride are often used for this purpose.
In order to optimize the use of the pre-wetting liquid, it is necessary to coat the solid deicer in a manner that distributes the liquid as uniformly as possible on the solid deicer. Problems can arise if the liquid is not uniformly distributed. For example, areas with excessive liquid will leach out from the solid deicer, while areas with inadequate liquid tend to clump and flow poorly. Thus, it is necessary to mix the deicer and liquid thoroughly. However, excessive mixing can cause the solid deicer to be crushed into small particles or “fines”, making it undesirable for many deicing applications.
Therefore, a need exists for an apparatus and method for applying a pre-wetting liquid to a solid deicer that effectively coats the solid deicer without excessively crushing the solid deicer or forming fines.